Dark Knight: Madness
by London1
Summary: Part one.....A new superhero in Chi-town


Dark Knight: Madness

By London

            "Mornin', Charley-ma'am" Modo said as he pulled into the Last Chance Garage.  Charley smiled and loosened up a bolt.

            "Hi Modo" Charley said. "Where are the others?"

            "They're coming" Modo said.  He took out a small, wrapped present and handed it to her. "Here ya go.  Happy Birthday."

            "Thanks Modo" Charley said wiping her hands off before taking the present from him. "Should I wait for the others?"

            "Sure, they should be here any time" Modo said looking out towards the street. "Vinnie wanted to grab some soda and Throttle went with him."

            Charley set the present down and went to wash her hands.  Modo sat down on his bike reading the paper.  His eyes widened as he read the headline on the front page 'Masked Person Stops Thieves'.  When Charley came out from the bathroom, Modo lowered the paper.

            "Charley" Modo said. "Did you read about the person who stopped the thieves?  They make the person out to sound like a superhero."

            "I haven't had time to read the paper today" Charley said. "What do you mean they sound like a superhero?"

            "Its right here" Modo said finding the spot. "Witnesses say that the person was dressed all in black and wore a mask.  Identity and sex of the person is not known at this time.  Witnesses did claim to see two guns on the person in black as well as a 'batman-like utility belt'.  Isn't that cool?"

            "I wonder who it is" Charley said.  Vinnie and Throttle pulled into the garage.

            "Happy birthday, Sweetheart" Vinnie said.

            "Yeah, Happy birthday, babe" Throttle said.  He held a cake box out to her. "You're favorite."

            "A black forest?" Charley asked opening the box.  She smiled when she saw that it was a black forest cake. "Oh, thanks guys."

            "Hey, bros, check this out" Modo said tossing the paper to Throttle. "Guess there might be a new good guy in town."

            Throttle read the article and passed it to Vinnie. "Strange.  We haven't seen this person yet."

            "Chicago's big" Charley said.  The guys smiled and got off their bikes.  They hustled Charley into the kitchen and brought their presents for her with them. "You guys didn't have to get me anything.  You know that right?"

            "Don't worry about it, Sweetheart" Vinnie said.  Charley opened Modo's present first since he had gotten there first.  It was a sketchbook that Modo had made partially into a scrapbook.  There were pictures of each of the mice, group pictures, and a few various pictures, like the one of Stroker.  Vinnie shoved his present into Charley's hands after she put the scrapbook down.  She opened it and found a dark green, almost black dress.

            "We're taking you to dinner, Sweetheart" Vinnie said.  Charley smiled and pulled it out to see how it looked against herself.  Throttle's present was last.  He had given her a piece of paper.  On that paper was a copy of a cabin reservation.

            "What's this?" Charley asked before reading it.

            "Thought we could all use a little get away" Throttle said.

            "How could you afford this Throttle?" Charley asked.

            He smirked. "The result of saving someone's life."

            Charley didn't know what to say.  She just smiled and pulled them all over the table in a hug.  "Thanks guys."

            A few blocks away, in an upstairs apartment that was starting to fall apart, a girl sat drinking her morning coffee.  She flipped through the paper, enjoying the fact that she had made it on the first page.

            The previous night ran through her head over and over again.  She had beaten the thieves until they coughed up the information she wanted.  They worked for Limburger, being thieves was part time.  Always that name, Limburger.

            "I'll have to find this cheese man" She said aloud. "Then I'll have to kick his stinky cheese ass."

            "Carbunkle?!" Limburger yelled.  The doctor appeared immediately in his office.

            "Yes, your over ripeness?" Carbunkle replied.

            "Have you read today's paper?" Limburger asked.

            "Uh.  No, I haven't" Carbunkle said.  Limburger shoved the front page of the newspaper into Carbunkle's face.  Limburger gave Carbunkle almost a full minute to read the article over.

            "I want to know who this person is" Limburger said. "I want to know NOW!!!"

            "Right away your dairy cultured one" Carbunkle said leaving hastily.  If this person was good, maybe he'd be able to hire them on for his rodent problem.

            Day passed quickly.  A girl walked home from her regular job as manager at Coffee Emporium with not much of any detectable skip in her stride.  She'd have to go home and change.  The wind blew the single strand of long hair in her face and just seemed to laugh as she pushed it back over her ear.

            Maybe tonight she'd find out more about this Limburger clown.  He was the apparent local big kahuna, the big cheese, the head mobster of Chicago.  The girl pulled a small spiral notebook from her pocket and flipped it open to her page of notes.

            Apparently Lawrence Limburger had come to Chicago almost eight years ago come March.  Over the past week, he had thieves stealing everything from stereos to jewelry.  There wasn't a pattern of where the thieves hit, only that it was on the same side of town as Limburger Tower.

            Adding to her list of facts, she noted that most of the thieves she'd run into had baldheads or baldheads with only a ponytail.  The girl shoved the notebook into her pocket and continued her way home.

            Charley felt good.  The shop was closed early, she had just gotten out of the shower, and her legs were shaved.  She felt clean and relaxed.  She had the radio on in her room and was singing along with the Metalicrank song.

            She had her dress beside her on the bed, with black sheer stockings, underwear, and shoes beside it.  She was putting lotion on her legs.  The guys were going to be over after they changed at the scoreboard.

            Charley wrapped her towel around her head and started to put on her undergarments.  Her stockings used a garter belt.  Her best friend in high school had told her that garter belts and stockings were sexier then plain nylons.  Charley agreed all the way.

            Charley slipped the dress on.  It was a satin dress, green but nearly black; it had a thick halter top to it, form fitted breast cups, and it had a slit from the floor to her lower hip.  Good thing her underwear were black, in case anyone saw when she sat down.

            Charley strapped her heels on and went to stand in front of the mirror.  She looked good.  It was nice to have someone like Vinnie who was so conscious about looks, otherwise she might be wearing a sack.

            The three Martian mice, who were getting ready for dinner, were rushing around the scoreboard.  Modo was taking a shower and every once in a while would scream when the hot water cut out.  Throttle was trying to find the dress shirt that Charley had gotten him last Christmas.  Vinnie was trying to find his dress shoes.

            "Next time, Vinnie's taking the last shower" Modo said coming out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel.

            "Modo, have you seen those dress shoes Charley got for us?" Vinnie asked.  He was looking through a box that was by his bead.

            "No" Modo said.  Throttle was going through a small closet.

            "Has anyone seen that black dress shirt that Charley got for me?" Throttle asked.  'No' was the general consensus.  Modo put on his black pants, a blue dress shirt, and slipped on a black leather belt.  Throttle was just in black dress pants and Vinnie was dressed in pack pants and a crisp white dress shirt, rolled to mid-forearm.

            Throttle finally found his dress shirt in Vinnie's side of the closet.  Vinnie found all their shoes in with their cold weather gear.  Modo was just giving himself the once over.

            "Found the shoes, Vin-man?" Throttle asked buttoning up his shirt and tucking it into his pants.

            "Yep" Vinnie said.  He handed them all their shoes, which were all different styles.  Modo had wingtips, Vinnie's were plain but shiny, and Throttle's had a black matte finish to them. "Do we look good or what bros?"

            "We look good" Modo said.  Throttle pulled his motorcycle jacket out of the closet and put it on.  It resembled his vest.

            "Let's get going, bros" Throttle said. "We shouldn't keep Charley waiting."

            "Yeow!" Vinnie yelled. "She's going to faint when she sees how hot I look."

            "Let's Rock!" Throttle yelled.  Then, with the others "And Ride!"

            It was nearly seven pm.  The platinum blonde haired girl had gotten home around five pm.  She had eaten, changed clothes, and was stretching out.  She was in her black clothes.  Lace-up knee high combat boots, a black unitard, purple utility belt, black masquerade mask with red tinted lenses, black gloves, and a black hooded sweatshirt with tailored inside pockets.  If anything, she almost looked like she was going to go out running with the wrong shoes.

            When she finished stretching out, she strapped two guns on, one to each leg.  The guns were back up.  Usually people had no idea how to fight properly, which made it easy.  The girl put her pack of cigs into one of her belt pockets and her notebook in another.  She felt ready to go hang out in the shadows.

            The guys showed up to at the garage.  Charley was in the bathroom, getting her make-up on.  They waited out by their bikes until she came out.  When she did, the guys' mouths dropped.

            "What?" Charley asked.  She furled her brow and put her hands on her hips. "What?!"

            "Babe, you look hot!" Vinnie said.  Charley's expression changed.  It had been a while since she had been dressed up.

            "Yeah" Throttle and Modo chimed in.

            Charley smiled and sauntered over to the three mice. "You guys don't look bad yourselves."

            "Oh-ho-ho, Babe" Vinnie said as she came over to sit behind him. "You need to wear a dress more often."

            "Hey, Charley, put this on" Throttle said giving her his coat. "It's cool out there tonight."

            "Thanks Throttle" Charley said putting it on. "So where are we going?"

            "It's a surprise" They all said at once.  Charley smiled and put her arms around Vinnie's waist as they left.

            In Limburger Tower, in Karbunkle's lab, two men stood waiting for their latest villain to arrive.  The transported lit up and soon an armor-clad man stood in their presence.

            "Greetings, Rivet" Limburger said.

            "Limburger" Rivet said. "I thought I recognized the transporter number."

            "Yes" Limburger said. "I have a most important job for you to take care of."

            "As long as you pay my prices" Rivet said.  His armor was a thick white-grey metal over a black body suit.  On his chest he had an 'R' made out of rivets.  A helmet made of the same metal as his armor covered his head.

            "Most certainly" Limburger replied.  Limburger gestured to Karbunkle, who gave Rivet a folder. "That is all the information I have on a certain person.  No one seems to know who he or she is.  Also in the folder, are pictures of three rampaging rodents.  I want that person in the article brought back here.  If you happen to run into the rodents, which you probably will, then feel free to dispose of them."

            "Fine" Rivet said reading over the article. "I want a group of men to take with me.  Two will need to steal something.  This person seems to stop thieves.  I want two vehicles of men waiting to chase her down.  I also want a vehicle for myself."

            "Whatever you think will help" Limburger chided. "Karbunkle, make sure this all gets done.  Rivet, happy hunting.  I'll be in my office."

            Our nameless girl made her way through the back alleys of Chicago.  She had come down from a rooftop when she saw a black van pull up to a closed pawnshop.  She watched from behind a dumpster as they picked the back door lock and went inside.

            These guys must not learn from the actions their friends have taken, the girl thought to herself.  They both had large guns in their hands.  When they entered the building, she moved in closer.

            The two men were pulling all the expensive items from the pawnshop and putting it all into bags.  The girl blended in with the dark walls of the shop.  She crept in close to the men and decided that that was enough.

            "Excuse me" She said before sucker punching one of the men.  The other goon pointed a gun at her and she pushed the barrel towards the ceiling before it went off.  In a flash she kicked the man in the chest.  The other man stood up and madly rushed her.

            He slammed her against a metal cage, which divided the pawnshop from the backroom.  The girl jabbed her fist into his neck and he dropped.  She kicked him in the stomach before moving towards the hallway to the back door.  The other man, who she had only kicked in the chest, stood up with his gun pointed at her.

            "You're going down girlie" He said with a sneer.

            "Whatever" She said with a small smile.  It was like slow motion.  She saw his finger starting to press on the trigger and she dropped to the floor.  She raised her boot up and nailed him in the groin.  His arm dropped and his mouth fell open.  Three shots rang out and the second bullet clipped her upper arm. "Ow.  You piece of shit!"

            She kicked his gun away and put him on top of his friend.  She gave each of them a kick for good measure.  She opened drawers until she found the duct tape.

            In a matter of minutes, she had both of the men duct taped to each other in a provocative position.  She put some duct tape over their mouths and put their guns on the counter top.

            She left the pawnshop, closing the door behind her.  She ran over to a ladder that led up to a rooftop.  She heard a car horn when she was on the fifth ladder rung.  She looked over and the black van, which the two men had gotten out of, was coming towards her.

            She tried to hustle up the ladder, but it was hard with her left arm bleeding.  The van crashed into the building, making her fall onto the roof of it.  What the hell was this?  There was a gun shot that came through the roof of the van.

            The girl screamed and rolled off the van.  She pulled out her guns and held them both pointed towards the van.  Nothing happened.  She walked off down the alley until she managed to go around a corner.  She ran, holstering her right handed gun.  She ended up on the street sidewalk.

            No one was walking around this neighborhood right now except possible gang members.  There was the sound of a car screeching around the corner.  The girl picked up her pace and ran.

            I wish I had a car or something right about now, the girl thought.  She dug around her utility pouch and pulled out a glass sphere that was the size of a shooting marble.  She threw it at the vehicle and it exploded when it hit the pavement.  It wasn't meant to kill, only to provide a distraction for escapes and fights.  The car swerved, but still followed her.  It caught up in no time.

            She stood on the sidewalk staring at the vehicle.  It was a buggy-like vehicle.  There were three bald men in the vehicle, two with guns.  Limburger set this up!  She backed up until she hit a garbage can.

            She reached back and threw the garbage can at the vehicle.  She pulled out her other gun and aimed it at the vehicle's occupants.

            "What do you want?" She asked.  The garbage can cluttered to the ground.

            "Our boss wants to see you" The driver said.

            "Oh" The girl said. "Well, send my apologies for not going to see him."

            "That ain't wise" The driver said.  The girl gave a single nod and shot all three of them in the arms.

            "Later, goonies" The girl said running off to try to make time to take care of her own arm.

            She ran around the corner only to find a vehicle speeding down the road.  An armored man reached out as they passed and picked up the girl by her hooded sweater.  He held her double fisted halfway in the buggy.  Her back was on his lap.

            "Go.  We got our person" Rivet said in his gravely voice.

            "Wine and everything" Charley said with a smile.  She was enjoying herself immensely.  The guys had taken her to a pricey restaurant that served steaks, seafood, and pasta only.

            "Only the best for you, Charley-ma'am" Modo said.  It looked like he had taught Throttle and Vinnie a few extra table manners for tonight.

            "How'd you guys find this place?  It's a little outside of our normal area of Chicago" Charley said.

            "Just passed by it one day" Vinnie said. "A few of Limburger's goons came this way.  Looked nice."

            "They don't seem to mind our ears either" Throttle said.

            "So, Throttle, tell me more about this getaway you planned" Charley said.

            "Well, it's just out of Chicago on Lake Michigan" Throttle said. "It's a secluded place.  There's a boat, a cabin with a Jacuzzi, and there's supposed to be a few trails around."

            Throttle continued to talk about the planned trip with only a few interruptions from the waiter.

            Rivet held his prisoner until they slowed for a light.  The driver had taken an evasive route where he didn't expect the mice to be.  The girl kicked her leg up and kicked Rivet in the head two times.  The force of her foot forced him to let her go and crunch the driver.

            The girl ran from the vehicle towards a well lit up building.  The driver and Rivet followed her into the parking lot.  The girl fished out and threw another exploding sphere at them, but it did little in slowing them down.

            Rivet pulled out a large weapon that half encased his forearm.  The girl turned in front of the large windows of the restaurant and looked at Rivet.  A red pulse shot out and forced the girl to fly backwards through the window.  She landed with a loud thud on someone's table.

            She screamed and twisted around to find a piece of glass in her side.  She pulled it out and tossed it to the ground.  Rivet came into the room through the busted window.  She pulled out her guns and aimed them at him.

            "Everybody down!" She yelled.  Three big men….NO!  Mice! Stood up.  One in blue rolled up his shirtsleeves.  Rivet fired another pulse and forced her to fly into the oak paneled wall.

            She heard fighting, when she pushed herself up off the floor.  Her guns had dropped somewhere.  Her suit was starting to tear.  She touched a hole and sneered.  She grabbed a handful of her spheres and stood up.  The mice were trying to take on Rivet, but weren't doing a very hot job.

            Running towards him, she flung the spheres at him, aiming for his head.  When they hit his helmet, they made him fall backwards.  Jumping on him, she straddled him and started punching him.  With his armor, she only made her knuckles bloody.  He gave her one solid punch that sent her sprawled on her back.  She was lifted off the ground by one hand.  It was the grey mouse.

            He fired an arm cannon at Rivet.  Rivet just stood up.  The blasts from the arm cannon weren't doing much against his armor.  Rivet raised the pulse gun.  The girl reached out and jerked the metal arm towards the pulse gun.

            The gun exploded, sending a pulse every which way.  Everyone was knocked back into walls.  Rivet landed outside.  The driver of the vehicle pulled him into the buggy and took off.

            "Oh man" Vinnie said picking himself up off the floor. "What was that?"

            "Look, bros" Modo said picking up the blonde girl. "It's the person who was in the paper today."

            "Charley-girl, you okay, babe?" Throttle asked helping her stand up.  She had hidden in the kitchen, which hadn't been too far from their table.

            "Yeah, I'm fine, Throttle" Charley said. "How about you guys?  Who's that?"

            "It's the person from the paper.  She's a girl" Modo said with a smile. "She's alive, just unconscious."

            "And bleeding" Vinnie chimed in. "You're getting blood on your shirt Modo."

            "Don't matter none, right now" Modo said.

            "Lets get out of here" Throttle said. "Cops'll be here soon and I don't really want to deal with them."

            "We didn't do anything" Vinnie said.

            "We're mice, bro" Throttle said.  They all ran out of the building to their bikes.  They took off before the cops even knew they had left.

            "What do you mean she got away?" Limburger yelled.

            "I should have bound her up" Rivet said. "I blew her into a building.  Those mice you showed me pictures of were there.  They blew up my gun.  I need new weapons.  I can take care of them."

            "I hope you do take care of them" Limburger said. "If you don't, you will not be paid."

            The girl the radio was calling 'the Dark Knight' woke up on a cot.  She groaned when she saw the overhead lights.  She sat up and felt all the aches and pains.

            "Hey, you're awake" A deep voice said.  She immediate stood in a fighting stance and looked at who was talking to her.  She hadn't been dreaming.  She had seen large mice and this one, the grey one, was talking to her. "Whoa, calm down."

            "Where am I?  Who are you?" The Dark Knight asked.

            "You're at the Last Chance Garage" Modo said. "I'm Modo."

            "Why'd you bring me here?" The Dark Knight asked.

            "You were knocked out" Modo said. "We took you with us because you got hurt."

            "Well, thanks" The Dark Knight said inching her way towards the door. "I've got to go now."

            She ran towards the door only to have Modo stop her by wrapping his arms around her.

            "Hey!" Modo said catching her. "Look, you're bleeding."

            "I can patch myself up" The girl yelled.  She maneuvered her body and flung Modo off of her.  "I'll catch ya later, mouse man."

            The girl ran off into an alleyway and disappeared into the shadows.  Throttle came out to the garage when he heard Modo fall to the floor.

            "Where's the girl?" Throttle asked.  Modo stood up and looked out towards the alley to see if he could see her, but he couldn't.

            "She ran away, bro" Modo said.

            "Did she knock you down, bro?" Throttle asked.  He had a small smile on his face.

            "Might have" Modo said. "Think we'll run into her again?"

            "Probably" Throttle said. "That bruiser back at the restaurant was more then likely brought here by Limburger.  I think we need to pay him a little visit."

            The girl ran home, crawling into her apartment by means of the fire escape.  She peeled off her suit when she reached her bedroom and grabbed her sweats.  Looking in the bathroom mirror, she saw that most of her body was covered in a thin layer of blood.  She started up the bath.

            The phone rang.  Running out to answer it, she picked up the portable phone.  "Hello?"

            "Am I speaking to Anne Riddle?" A male voice asked.

            "Yeah" Anne, the girl, the Dark Knight, replied.

            "Your rent was due today" The man said. "Why don't I have it down here?"

            "Did you check your mailbox?" Anne asked.

            "No" The man replied.  Anne rolled her eyes.

            "I put it in with your mail" Anne said.  The man grumbled and hung up.  "What an ass."

            "Here's a shirt Modo" Charley said handing Modo a clean t-shirt.  Modo took it and started to take off his bloody dress shirt.

            "Thanks Charley" Modo said.  Charley had put on her pajamas, her robe, and bunny slippers.

            "Can I get you guys anything?" Charley asked.  She went into the kitchen to make herself some hot tea.

            "Rootbeer" Vinnie and Modo said.  Throttle went into the kitchen where the boys couldn't hear him.

            "Charley-girl, could I talk with you?" Throttle asked.

            "Of course Throttle" Charley said.

            "Maybe we shouldn't leave for the cabin for a week or so" Throttle said. "I mean, Limburger is up to something.  We need to find out what it is."

            "I think it has something to do with that girl" Charley said.

            "I think so too" Throttle said. "I wonder why though."

            "Maybe she knows" Charley said. "Maybe you guys should ask her first."

            "We'd have to find her first" Throttle said. "She booked.  Left Modo on his back."

            "What if that's it?" Charley said after a momentary pause.  Throttle looked at her quizzically. "Throttle, she left Modo flat on his back?"

            "Yeah" Throttle said. "Wait.  You don't think he wants to hire her, do you?  She was putting up too much of a fight against that armor guy."

            "Everyone has a price, Throttle" Charley replied.

            Anne had rinsed the blood from her body.  She had cleaned her cuts out while in the bath.  She held a dry cloth over her side, where the glass had cut into her.  She pulled on her sweats and started to bandage up the cut.  Once it was taped, she wrapped gauze around her arm to stop the bleeding from the grazing of the gunshot.

            All the other cuts were too small to worry about.  She pulled her t-shirt on and went to turn on the tv.  The news was talking about the mysterious masked hero who sent a 'terrorist' running away.  They were calling Anne the Dark Knight.  They had identified her as being a girl.

            Anne flipped the channel and caught the end of 'Star Trek'.  She pulled out a box full of various powders and liquids.  She pulled out a box of glass sphere capsules and pulled on rubber gloves.  Might as well make more spheres while recouping.

            Modo couldn't get the girl off his mind.  She was strong, resourceful, and could even knock him down on his butt.  No girl had ever done that before.  He was watching the game, but not really paying attention.

            "Yes!  Foul!" Vinnie yelled.  Modo looked confused by the sudden interruption. "Modo!  Foul for the other team!"

            "Oh" Modo said.  Vinnie sat down and looked at his bro.

            "What's wrong?" Vinnie asked.

            "Nothing, just thinking about that girl" Modo replied.

            "Oooo" Vinnie cooed. "You like her."

            "I might" Modo said with a smile.  Vinnie playfully punched Modo in the arm.

            The next day at the Coffee Emporium, Anne wore her usual pinstripe oxford and black pants.  Aside from the bruise forming on her forehead, no one would have noticed she had been in a fight.

            "What happened there?" A customer asked pointing to her forehead.

            "My dictionary fell on me" Anne said.  He gave her an 'ow-must've-hurt' look.  He bought his two books and coffee mug, then left.  It was Saturday.  Anne worked six days a week, Saturday was her part-time day.  She'd be off around noon.  The clock said 11:30.  Anne stretched her neck and waited for the next customer to come over to the checkout counter.

            "Hi.  I was wondering if you guys have a coffee table book on motorcycles" Charley asked.  She had been in search of this book for a month now and no one had it in stock.  They didn't recognize each other.

            "Let me check" Anne said.  She pulled up the stock search and waited while the computer did its thinking. "We have one left."

            Anne went to show Charley where the book was.

            "Wow" Charley said. "I can't believe you guys have it.  I've checked at all the book stores around town."

            "Coffee Emporium seems to have it all" Anne said.  It was almost true.  The Coffee Emporium had a small café that was attached to a coffee item-related store.  There were t-shirts, various brands of coffee, mugs, coffee pots, books, coffee scented candles, and anything else that was coffee related.

            "Sure does" Charley said.  Anne helped her check out and waited for noon to come around.

            "I need this metal reproduced" Rivet said handing Karbunkle a piece of his armor. "The mice can't penetrate the metal."

            "What kind of metal is it?" Karbunkle asked.

            "Rignor Sand Steel with an acid finish" Rivet said.

            "Oh" Karbunkle said. "I hear that is some of the best metal in two galaxies."

            "Can you do it?" Rivet asked.

            "I have sources who could send me some" Karbunkle replied running his fingers over the steel.  It was rare to find the steel since Rignor had been taken over by a group of aliens called Smorkins.

            "I want it by tonight if possible" Rivet said. "Make sure you don't forget."

            "I won't forget" Karbunkle called out as Rivet left. "You armored oaf."

            Charley got back to the garage when she realized that her purse was missing.  The guys had just started to make lunch.

            "Hey Charley-girl" Throttle said coming out to the garage to see her.

            "Hey" Charley said. "I'll be right back.  I think I left my purse at the Coffee Emporium."

            "I'll take you" Throttle said. "I need to get out of here for a few minutes.  Modo and Vinnie are driving me nuts right now."

            Charley smiled and crawled behind Throttle on his bike.  Back to the Coffee Emporium to save Charley's purse.  She had to be accompanied by a big macho hero.

            Anne was starting to close up her station when Charley came back through the door with Throttle in tow.  She glanced over and did a double take when she saw Throttle.

            "Ow" She said quietly.  Throttle wandered around the store while Charley looked for her purse.  Anne took her chance to talk to the biker.  "Can I help you find anything?"

            "No" Throttle said before looking over his shoulder. "I'm just look…um…looking."

            "Okay, let me know if you need any help" Anne said.  She looked at her watch. "I'll be here for another ten minutes."

            He nodded and watched her as she went to put something in a back room.  Charley found him.  She had her purse over her shoulder.

            "Hey, you okay Throttle?" Charley asked.

            "Yeah" Throttle replied still waiting for her to come out from the back room.  When she did, Throttle spun himself and Charley towards the isle of mugs. "She's pretty hot.  Think she saw us?"

            "Why don't you just go talk to her instead of pretending not to be interested?" Charley asked.  She looked over at Anne, who had gone back to her cashier station.

            "I can't do that" Throttle said.  Charley rolled her eyes. "I'm a mouse, a Martian.  I can look though."

            "Men" Charley said.  She punched him in the shoulder. "Fine.  Let's go."

            Throttle hustled out to his bike.  Charley stopped by the cashier.

            "I'm closed, I'm sorry" Anne said.

            "Oh, no" Charley said with a smile. "Look, my friend there likes you, but he's too shy to say something."

            "The biker guy?" Anne asked looking towards the closed doors.

            "Yeah" Charley said. "If you're interested, I could set up a date or something." God, I'm bad at doing this, Charley thought to herself.

            "Sure" Anne said still looking at the doors.  She was trying to see if the biker was still there.

            It worked! Charley gave her a business card. "His name is Throttle.  Call if you want to set something up with him."

            Anne took the card.  Last Chance Garage.  She looked over at Charley.  Yes.  She had been the one in the green dress.  Oh, boy.  Anne smiled.

            "He's a little different" Charley said.  Anne cut her off.

            "I know" Anne said. "I've seen him and his friends around."

            "Oh" Charley said.  She smiled and left.  She felt good about herself.  She was now twenty-three, she felt surprisingly close to Vinnie, and she was setting up a date for Throttle.  Now if business could just pick up a little.  Two more motorcycles a week or so, then she'd be fine.

            She hopped on Throttle's bike.

            "What was that about?" Throttle asked taking off.

            "You might have a date" Charley said with a laugh.

            "What?!" Throttle said surprised.  Charley just laughed harder.

            "She said that she's seen you guys around" Charley replied. "Look, the ball's in her court.  I gave her my business card.  She'll call if she wants to go out."

            "Charley-girl, you're very dangerous sometimes" Throttle said.

            When they got back to the garage, Throttle dismounted and caught Charley's arm before she went inside.

            "What's her name?" Throttle asked.

            "I don't know" Charley replied. "Um.  I didn't ask."

            "Don't tell the guys, okay?" Throttle asked.  Charley nodded and went inside.

            "Got something for you guys!" Charley called as she put the book on the table.  It was a good two inches thick, full of motorcycle pictures, and it was just heavy enough that if she needed to she could threaten to smack them with it before they destroyed her place in another wrestling match.

            "What is it?" Vinnie asked coming over.  When he saw it his eyes widened. "OW!  Cool!"

            "What is it bro?" Modo asked.

            "Naked pictures of your superhero girlfriend" Vinnie called back.  Modo's eye flashed, but that's all he did.  He pulled the hot dogs out of the water they were boiling in.

            "Girlfriend?" Throttle asked.  He sat down next to Vinnie, checking out the book.

            "Yeah, Modo's all worked up over that chick from last night" Vinnie replied.  Modo set the hot dogs on the table and Charley grabbed the condiments.

            "Bro, I said not to tell" Modo said.  He saw a picture of an old Harley. "Ooo.  Very nice bike."

            "This book is awesome, Charley-girl" Vinnie said flipping through the pages.

            "Hey, would I get you guys lame things?" Charley asked piling ketchup onto her dog.

            Anne got off work and went home.  She pulled out her notebook and added a few notes to it.  She included her run in with the mice.  She put the notebook down and pulled out her unitard.  It had holes from the bullet, from the glass, and from that pulse gun.

            Anne sighed and went to pull out her box of fabric.  She'd have to patch it up with more black spandex until she got her next paycheck.  She pulled out her utility belt as well, deciding that she'd fill up the pouches with ammo and stuff.

            Lighting a cigarette and cutting patches, she went to work on her costume.  It took a half an hour to get the big holes patched and another twenty minutes to sew up the small holes.  She tossed the suit aside and pulled out her box of explosive stuff.  She filled the metal cased pockets with the glass spheres.  She had worked on a more explosive glass sphere the night before.  Hopefully, they'd take care of that armored nerd with the gun.  At least she had destroyed that gun of his.

            She bumped her coat and the business card fell next to her.  She closed the belt pocket and looked at the card.  Last Chance Garage, huh?  Maybe they wouldn't recognize her if she went there.  Better not wear black, Anne thought to herself.  She picked up the phone and gave them a call.

            "Hello?" Charley said answering the phone. "Oh, hi.  Yeah, he's here, hang on."  She covered the receiver with her hand. "Hey Throttle, can you come here for a second?"

            "Sure" Throttle said getting up from the couch. "Yeah?"

            "Here" Charley smiled. "It's for you.  Says her name is Anne."

            Throttle's mouth dropped open, but he took the phone all the same. "Hello?"

            "Hi" Anne said on the other line. "This is Anne.  I talked to you at the Coffee Emporium earlier."

            "Yeah, Charley said you might call" Throttle said.  There was an awkward silence. "Are you doing anything later today?"

            "Not really" Anne said. "I was hoping to check out a vehicle of some sort.  That's all."

            "Oh" Throttle said. "What are you thinking of getting?"

            "There's this older sporty Harley that's up for sale" Anne said. "I was thinking about that."

            "What year is it?" Throttle asked.  His interest perked up.

            "I'm not sure" Anne said. "Want to check it out with me?  We could grab some food or something afterwards."

            "Sure" Throttle said. "When?"

            "Well, I can be at the Last Chance around three" Anne said. "I have to finish up this project I'm working on."

            "Okay.  I'll see you then" Throttle replied.  He hung up, feeling strange.

            "Well?" Charley asked.

            "She'll be here at three" Throttle said.

            Anne considered wearing her costume under her clothes, but thought that that would be asking for trouble.  She put on a pair of black leather pants and a red shirt.  Her wounds had stopped bleeding.  She had always been a super fast healer.  Maybe it was that whole mutant thing that she had heard about.

            There had been articles on mutants, how dangerous they could be, how a few of them had saved lives.  Anne put that aside.  If anyone suspected her of being a mutant then she could get into a lot of trouble.

            She took the bandages off and looked at herself in the mirror.  The bruise she had this morning was almost gone.  There was just a little bit of yellow discolor to the skin now.  It would probably be gone by three.

            She put on her boots, the only boots she owned, her black knee high combat boots.  She pulled the pants over the boots and grabbed her coat.  It would take her a half hour to walk to the Last Chance.

            "Maybe we should go out riding" Modo said. "Maybe we'll run into that Dark Knight girl."

            Charley smiled. "I've never seen you like this Modo."

            "Hey, I can be attracted to girls" Modo said.  Throttle was pacing.  It was almost three. "Besides, she didn't seem upset that I was a mouse or anything."

            There was a knock on the garage door.  Throttle ran to go answer it.

            "What's his deal?" Vinnie asked.  He sat behind Charley and started to rub her shoulders.

            "He has a date" Charley said.

            "What?!" Modo and Vinnie exclaimed.  Charley nodded.  She waited until he left before giving them the scoop on the girl.

            Throttle felt a warmth he hadn't felt in years.  Anne sat behind him on his bike.  They pulled into the lot where the bike was.  They got off and looked at the harley.  It was a small bike compared to Throttle's.

            "So what do you think?" Anne asked.

            "Have you ridden it?" Throttle asked.

            "No" Anne replied. "The guy said that it needs a new radiator."

            "Charley could do that for you" Throttle said. "Looks like it could use some paint too."

            "Say I get her to fix it up" Anne said. "Think it's a good deal?"

            "For nine hundred dollars?  Yeah" Throttle said. "I'd have Charley check it out entirely though.  Nine hundred is a little cheap."

            The owner of the bike came out to talk with them about the bike.  He knew Throttle through the Last Chance and lowered the bikes price to six hundred dollars.  But, that was due to Throttle fixing more then what the man had paid for when he had brought his chopper in.  If Charley knew, Throttle might be a dead mouse.

            Anne pulled out a checkbook and wrote a check for six hundred dollars.  The man tossed her the keys.

            "Awesome" Anne said.  She nudged Throttle with her elbow. "You're good to have around, stranger."  All Throttle could do was smile.  "Think I could take for a spin now?"

            "Better have Charley look at it first" Throttle said. "But, you might as well ride it over to the garage."

            Anne started it.  It let out a sound that a motorcycle really shouldn't make.  She followed Throttle back to the Last Chance.  Watching his backside wasn't a bad thing to be watching, she even managed to keep her peripheral vision on the road.

            Charley was outside before they had a chance to pull in.  She had her hands over her ears.

            "Ugh" Charley said as Anne cut to engine off. "Sounds like a radiator problem."

            "Yep" Anne said. "I know it's Saturday, but could I get it in to be fixed?"

            "I won't promise it'll be done this weekend, but sure" Charley said. "Just park it inside next to the guys' bikes."

            Anne wheeled it inside and parked it next to a blue low rider.  Anne walked around and looked it over.

            "Wow" Anne said.  Modo came out and noticed her.

            "Like it?" Modo asked coming closer.  Throttle was sitting on his bike watching them.

            "Yeah" Anne said. "I've never seen one like it."

            "Custom made" Modo replied.

            "Oh" Anne said with appreciation.  She looked over at Throttle and smiled.  Modo and Throttle were both cute. "I'll see you later, Modo."  She went over and climbed on back of Throttle's bike.  They took off down the road.

            "How did she know my name?" Modo asked Charley.  Charley just shrugged.

            "Do you have the metal yet, Doctor?" Rivet asked.  Karbunkle pointed to a pallet of metal pieces. "Wonderful."

            "Did you finish your gun?" Karbunkle asked.  Rivet nodded. "Very nice, dear boy."

            "I need to test it out" Rivet said.

            "We have patrol groups out if you wish to look for those bothersome mice" Karbunkle said. "Just get on that radio over there."

            Throttle and Anne went to a drive through hot dog stand.  There were a few tables set out and they chose one with a red umbrella attached to it.

            "So have you ridden motorcycles before?" Throttle asked.

            Anne nodded 'yes'. "My dad had four of them."

            "I wouldn't mind riding with you" Throttle asked.

            "I wouldn't mind you riding with me either" Anne said with a smile.  She sipped her soda and swallowed the last of her hot dog.  They looked into each other's eyes, well sort of.  Throttle looked into hers and she looked into his glasses.  They slowly started to lean towards each other.

            BBBBUUUUMMMM!  A light pole fell over by way of a small car.  In the street stood Rivet.  Throttle and Anne were both standing when they saw him.  Throttle stepped in front of Anne.

            "Martian" Rivet bellowed.  People were running about, traffic had come to a halt.  He started to walk towards Throttle and Anne.

            "Get out of here" Throttle said sternly to Anne.

            "No way" Anne said.  Throttle turned his head.

            "Go" Throttle said. "He'll hurt you."

            "And what about you?" Anne asked.  They were flung backwards by the force of the pulse gun.  They landed almost twenty feet from where they were, skidding to a stop.  Anne shook her head and stood up, picking up part of the pipe that used to be the umbrella from the table.

            She spun it around in her hand and started in a dead run towards Rivet.  He stood watching as if she weren't anything but a fly.  He pointed his gun at her.  With quick reflexes, she knocked the gun out of his hand, spun around, and knocked him in the head with the end of the metal pole.

            "Who are you?  Why do you interfere?" Rivet asked in a growl.  She didn't respond except with another blow to the head.  This made him stumble backwards. "You upset—"  She hit him in the stomach and knocked out the back of his knee, making him fall.  She jumped up to kick him in the head, hopefully to knock him out, but he caught her leg.  She landed on her back with the wind knocked out of her. "You are a pesky human."

            He stood and tossed her into a bench.  Throttle stood with his gun pointed at him.

            "Anne!  I think you'd better leave" Throttle growled.

            "You think your gun will stop me?" Rivet asked taking a few steps closer to him. "It didn't stop me before and it won't stop me now."

            "Don't be so sure" Throttle said firing at point blank.  The shots only scarred the metal.  Rivet laughed until he bent back in surprise.  Anne hung on to his neck as he tried to pull her off.  She gave him a swift kick to the lower spine. "Get down from there!"

            "Go get his gun!" Anne yelled.  She tried prying his helmet off, but it wouldn't budge.  He grabbed her by her shoulders and threw her into a garden of roses.  Anne screamed.

            Throttle held the gun in his hand.  He had it aimed at Rivet.  "I don't know where you come from, scumbag, but I'm going to send you back."

            "If you fire that, it will chop your hand off" Rivet said with an evil smile. "It will only allow one person to fire it."

            "Oh, I can solve that" Throttle said.  He tossed the pulse gun up into the air and shot two holes through it.  "If you can't share, you shouldn't flaunt it in front of others."

            Rivet picked up the mouse before he knew what happened.  Rivet flung Throttle into the rosebushes, where he landed on top of Anne, who belted out another scream.

            When they emerged from the rosebushes, Rivet was gone.  In fact, so was just about everyone.  Throttle pulled Anne over to his bike and they took off.

            "You gonna be okay?" Throttle asked.  Anne wanted to be dropped off at her place.

            "Yeah" Anne said.  She got off the bike. "Or, I will be."

            "Don't you want help pulling out all of those thorns?" Throttle asked.  Anne just gave him a little smile and stepped in to kiss him. "Want some help doing anything else?"

            She smiled. "You could always come upstairs with me Throttle."

            "Aren't you hurt from being flung around?" Throttle asked.  Anne pulled him close, so they were nose to nose.

            "If I'm hurt, I'd need someone to help sooth the pain" Anne said.  Then she smiled, kissed him, and stepped back. "4D if you decide."

            She disappeared into the building without a limp or anything.  Of course, the thorns hadn't pierced her leather pants, but she didn't have a bruise or anything.

            He parked his bike without a second thought and ran upstairs.

            Throttle knocked on the door, marked 4D and walked in.  "Anne?"

            "Come on in" Anne called from somewhere unseen.  She came into the main room.  Her coat was off and her shirt was pushed up to her upper arms.  She pulled out a few thorns.

            "Do they hurt?" Throttle asked.  Anne shook her head 'no'.  He stood close to her and looked at her arms.  She pulled out a deeply imbedded thorn, a little blood started to spot, then it closed up miraculously. "Whoa."

            "What?" Anne asked looking up at him.

            "I've never seen anyone heal so fast" Throttle said.  He didn't touch her arm, only stared at it, as if it were going to push all the thorns out at any time.

            "I just heal really fast" Anne said. "Don't worry about it."  She pulled all the thorns she saw from her arms and pushed her sleeves back down. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

            "No, I'm okay" Throttle said.

            "Want to start helping me with thorns?" Anne asked.  Throttle felt a rush of heat flood through him.

            "Yeah" Throttle replied.  Anne walked towards the bedroom with Throttle in tow.  She pulled out a pair of tweezers and handed them to Throttle.  "You should lay down on the bed."

            Anne took off her shirt and laid down on her stomach.  She had landed on her back in the roses.  Throttle wasn't sure if he felt like the doctor or if he felt like a soon-to-be lover.  He took a deep breath, undid her bra, and straddled her hips.

            He started to pull the thorns out.  He smiled when he noticed her tattoo on her shoulder.  It was done in black and was a bat. "I like your tattoo."

            "Thanks" Anne said with a small smile.  These thorns hurt.  She could feel him trying to be gentle while digging them out. "I noticed you have one too."

            "Yeah" Throttle said. "Got it while I was in the military."

            "Ow" Anne said when he pulled an extra large thorn from her shoulder blade.

            "Sorry" Throttle said softly.  His fur felt very erotic against her cool skin.  She could barely breathe when she felt him kiss the spot where he had pulled out the thorn. "Any better?"

            "Mmhmm" Anne said. "Just get all of them out."

            "There's only four left that I can see" Throttle said hurrying to get them all out.  He ran his fingers near a long jagged area that was trying to heal. "Did he do this?"

"Yeah" Anne said.  She grimaced when she thought that he might remember her pulling glass from her side the night before.  

"It looks like it hurt" Once he finished, he tossed the tweezers aside and started to massage Anne's back.

            "You don't have to do that" Anne whispered.

            "I don't mind" Throttle said.  He leaned over and nibbled at the spot between her shoulder blades.  Anne nearly melted to putty in his hands.  She turned over and pulled him into a long kiss.

            He ran his hands up and down her sides until he felt something for his hands to do.  He fiddled around with her pants until they finally opened.  Anne pushed his vest off of his shoulders and ran her hands up his chest.

            Throttle gave a deep moan that sent shivers down Anne's spine.  He managed to unzip her pants before having to sit back and rid her of her boots and jeans.

            "These are some pretty big combat boots" Throttle said as he pulled them off of her.  He nearly stopped breathing when she sat before him only in underwear.

            "That's pretty big too" Anne said. "But, I'm not talking about your boots, mouse."

            She sat up and started undoing his belt.  He took over and had his stuff peeled off quickly.

            "Like what you see then?" Throttle asked with a smile.  Anne just responded by nibbling at his neck.

            "Where's Throttle?" Modo asked coming into the kitchen at the Last Chance.

            "He had a date" Charley said.

            "Whoa!  What?!" Vinnie asked bounding around the corner.

            "What do you mean he had a date?" Modo asked.  Charley looked at them and crossed her arms.

            "He's out with a girl" Charley said.

            "Doing what?" Vinnie asked.  Charley and Modo just raised an eyebrow at him.

            "He's been gone for a while now" Modo said. "I just heard on the radio that that armored buffoon tried to destroy the hot dog drive through."

            "If he was there or if he needed help, he would have called you guys" Charley said.

            "I guess" Modo said.  Vinnie smiled and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

            "Maybe we should just veg tonight" Vinnie said. "Rent a movie or something."

            "And have you bouncing off the walls by the middle of the movie?" Charley said. "I don't think so."

            "I won't bounce off the walls" Vinnie replied. "Really."

            Throttle and Anne rolled off the bed and hit the floor.  It never fazed them.  At some point, a blanket came into play, finding its way around them, then under them, and finally off to the side.

            When their fun turned to orgasms, they both clamped to each other before needing to break away for air.  Throttle rolled onto his back beside Anne.  She rolled onto her side placing her hand across his chest and her head on his shoulder.

            "Feel any better?" Throttle asked.

            "Much better" Anne said. "I need a shower before I fall asleep."  She slowly got up and pulled Throttle up with her. "C'mon."

            Anne pulled Throttle into the shower once the water warmed up.  He looked and moved like he was going to fall down.  She put his glasses on the bathroom counter and pulled the shower curtain shut.

            "Are you okay?" Anne asked with a chuckle.  He stepped under the water and let it beat against his face.  He braced himself against the wall.

            "Yeah" Throttle said. "It's just been a really long time."

            Anne moved behind Throttle and wrapped her arms around his waist.  She grabbed a sponge and started to scrub him down.  His tail lightly wrapped itself around her leg.

            "Can I ask you a question?" Throttle asked.  Anne started to scrub his back.

            "Yeah" Anne said.

            "Why did you…?" Throttle asked. "I mean, did you just because I'm different?"

            "I slept with you because I find you attractive" Anne said.  She pulled his hair until his head bent back a little. "Do you always ask this question?  Cause I'm not sure if I should be offended or not."

            Throttle turned around and wrapped his arms around her. "Babe, I've never been with an Earthling before, only Martian.  I didn't mean to offend you."

            Anne smiled. "Let me duck under the water and we'll go to bed.  Take a nap, whatever."

            "Where are you going, big guy?" Vinnie asked watching Modo get onto his bike.

            "Just out cruisin', Vin-man" Modo said. "I'll be back in a bit."

            "Hey, grab a movie while you're out okay?" Vinnie asked.  Modo nodded and took off.

            Anne and Throttle dried each other off before crawling into bed.  Anne cradled Throttle against her and tried not to fall asleep.  He fell asleep almost instantly, especially with her stroking his hair.  After an hour, Anne pulled away from Throttle and pulled out her costume from the closet.

            Throttle rolled over onto his stomach and started to snore very lightly.  Anne smiled and grabbed her underwear.  Looking for a different coat to wear, she grabbed her black fencing jacket.  It was a novelty jacket, which her mother had found, since you're only allowed to wear white while fencing.

She dressed quickly and left a note on purple paper next to Throttle.  She left the apartment via window and went to see what she could see.

Modo was parked in an empty parking lot watching Limburger Tower.  A few lights were still on, but it was almost seven pm.  Most people had gone home.

He wanted to find that armored assailant and pound his face in.  Not because he had tried to kill him, but because he ruined Charley's birthday dinner and was beating on the Dark Knight.

From out of the shadows, a figure silently came up behind Modo.  She watched Limburger's Tower with him.

"Not much is happening from here" The Dark Knight said.  Modo jumped nearly three feet from his bike.  His arm cannon was open and was pointed at her chest. "Put it away, mouse."

"Dark Knight-ma'am" Modo said bringing his arm down.  She held her hands behind her back. "Sorry about that.  You startled me."

"Want to go get a closer look?" She asked.

"You don't want to go up there" Modo said.

"I don't?" She asked.  She smiled and pushed her hair behind her ear. "Are you sure you just don't want to bring a girl up there?"

"You could get hurt" Modo said. "That guy from the other night sure pulled a number on all of us."

"Here" The Dark Knight said handing Modo a sphere. "Toss that, just make sure you throw it at least twenty yards away."

Modo chucked the sphere at a half demolished building.  It exploded and left nothing but chunks of wall and dust.

"Whoa" Modo said. "What was that thing?"

"An exploding sphere" The Dark Knight replied. "I upgraded to a more powerful bomb.  What do you think?"

"I just hope it works against that guy" Modo said. "Did you catch his name?"

"Nope" The Dark Knight replied. "He had a big 'R' on his chest though."  She climbed on the back of his bike. "Let's just stop by Limburger Tower.  We'll just walk in and see what we can find."

"Walk in?" Modo repeated.

"Yeah" The Dark Knight replied. "The security is really lax at this time.  People are coming and going, shifts just changed, and besides, Limburger has so many aliens walking around there that no one will question us."

"We usually just bust through Limburger's office window" Modo said taking off towards the tower.

"That works" The Dark Knight replied.

Throttle groaned as he woke up.  He put his glasses on and looked at the clock.  The bright red numbers red 7:30pm.  He rolled onto his back before he noticed something was wrong.  He sat up and looked around the room.  Anne was gone.

He noticed the note on the pillow beside him.  He turned on the lamp and read it.

'Throttle - Sorry.  I had to be somewhere.  I'll be back around nine or so.  Feel free to sleep or watch tv.  I'll see you when I get back.  –Anne'

"Damn" Throttle said.  He got up and got dressed.  He had the overwhelming feeling of being a fool.  He left a note on the bottom half of the purple piece of paper.  He had to go back to the garage.

Modo and the Dark Knight crashed into Limburger's office.

"I do hate it when you vermin do that" Limburger said. "Do you realize how much windows cost?"

"We have some questions" Modo said.  The Dark Knight got off of the bike and held both guns towards Limburger since no one else was in the room.

"Who's the guy in the armor?" The Dark Knight asked.

"I'll give you a hundred thousand dollars if you kill the mice" Limburger said to the Dark Knight.

"Sorry" The Dark Knight said.  She clicked the hammer back on the gun. "Answer my question."

"His name is Rivet" Limburger asked. "Would you like to meet him?" He pushed a button and smiled.

"That might cost you a tower Limburger" Modo said.  His eye glowed a little.  Limburger had a worried look that turned to an evil grin.  His office door opened with Greasepit holding the door for Rivet.

"My dear Rivet" Limburger said standing up behind his desk.  The Dark Knight pointed her guns towards Rivet. "I'd like to introduce you to one of the mice and his friend.  Modo and, what do they call you?  The Dark Knight?"

"I guess" The Dark Knight said.  Rivet had a small gun in his right hand.  He pointed it at the Dark Knight.

"You don't think that your guns will harm me do you?" Rivet laughed.  The Dark Knight holstered her right gun and pulled out a sphere.  Rivet laughed again only to be joined in by the Dark Knight.

"Its going to be funny when she nails you" Modo said.  His focus had turned to Rivet.  Limburger sneaked away without anyone realizing it.  The Dark Knight threw the sphere at Rivet.  As a reflex, he tried to block it from hitting him.  It exploded and took his hand with it.

"It worked" The Dark Knight said. "I mean…Ha!  I knew it would work!"

Rivet fell to the floor in shock.  His left was nothing more then a bloody stump.  He never screamed though.  He just aimed his gun and shot the Dark Knight.  It was a mini-pulse gun.  She flew back into Modo.  They ended up in a heap on the floor.

Rivet stood up and walked closer to them. "Pick them up."  Greasepit, who had been cowering in the corner of the room, came over and picked up the Dark Knight. "Toss her out the window.  If she makes it, I'll deal with her later."

"No!" Modo yelled trying to get up.  Greasepit kicked him in the chest.

"No, no, no, Mousey" Greasepit said.  He went over to the window with the Dark Knight held by her fencing coat. "Nice knowing ya, girlie."

Modo got up and hoisted his bike up.  Greasepit dropped her.  Modo started his bike and made to leave the office.  As he made the jump out the window, Rivet shot his bike with the mini-pulse gun.  Greasepit watched as Modo and the Dark Knight fell towards the ground.

Modo gunned his boosters, trying to control the fall.  The Dark Knight was a few feet below him.  He could almost reach her with his tail.  He cut the boosters and fell faster.  He managed to grab the Dark Knight with his tail and put his boosters back on before hitting the ground.

They still fell too fast to land softly.  The Dark Knight went sprawling in the tower parking lot.  Modo had flipped over the handle bars and landed half on the sidewalk.  The bike's front wheel was crunched and the tire had exploded.

Modo howled when he felt his leg wobbling in a strange way.  The Dark Knight managed to crawl over to Modo.

"Bike has a radio" Modo said. "Call my bros."

The Dark Knight went over to bike and pressed a well worn button. "Hello?  Hey!  Anyone there?!"

"Who is this?" Came back over the radio.

"Who is this?" The Dark Knight asked back.  Modo was still howling in the background.

"Is that Modo?" The voice asked.

"That was Modo" Throttle's voice chimed in. "Where are you?"

"Limburger Tower" The Dark Knight said.  He didn't stay at her place.  Her stomach knotted just a tiny bit. "His leg is busted bad."

"Who is this?" The other voice asked again.

"Look, just hurry" The Dark Knight said. "He's in pain and his bike it bent up too."

Over the radio, she heard the other voice, the white mouse's voice calling for Charley to get the truck.

"I'm close by" Throttle said. "I'll be there in about two minutes."

"Modo, they'll be here in two minutes" The Dark Knight said.  She limped over to Modo. "Is there anything I can do?"

Modo had managed to sit up and set his leg straight out before him.  He reached out and grabbed her hand with his flesh hand.  She squeezed it back.

When Throttle arrived, he saw Modo's bike.  It would take a while for Charley to fix it.  He knew that just by the bent suspensions.  He practically ran off his bike towards Modo.  He had a death grip on the Dark Knight's hand.

"Modo, bro" Throttle said.  He tried to pry his hand from the Dark Knights.  Modo just squeezed tighter.  The Dark Knight made a face and grabbed hold of his wrist. "Bro, you're squeezing her too hard.  Let go."

Throttle managed to get Modo's fingers off of the Dark Knight.  She scooted a foot back from them.

"Thanks" The Dark Knight said.  Throttle turned away after looking at Modo's leg.

"Are you okay?" Throttle asked her.

"Yeah" The Dark Knight said. "I heal pretty fast."  She stood up and walked in a circle.  She was limping.  She tried to stretch out her legs.  Charley and Vinnie showed up in a pick-up truck.  The Dark Knight went over to Modo. "Modo" She whispered into his ear. "I'll come see you tomorrow.  Just remember, 'this too shall pass'."

She smiled at Throttle and started to walk off down the sidewalk.

"Hey" Throttle said standing. "Hey, where are you going?"

She waved at him.  Vinnie and Charley went over to Modo and started to tend to his leg.  Throttle tried to catch up to the Dark Knight.

"Wait up" Throttle said.  It was hard for the Dark Knight not to laugh at Throttle.  She could see some of his hair sticking out the front of his helmet. "Do you need a ride somewhere?  I mean, it's the least I could do for staying with Modo."

"Here" The Dark Knight said handing Throttle a sphere. "Be really careful with it.  Twist to the left and it'll open up, disarming itself.  The guys name is Rivet.  One of these took off his hand."

"One of these?" Throttle asked looking the sphere over.  She pulled out a cigarette and lit it up.

"Careful with it" The Dark Knight said. "Treat it like it's an egg or something.  He had on his armor, you don't.  It would probably kill you if it exploded."

Throttle put it into one of his belt pouches.  Her hair color was the same as Anne's.  He smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem" The Dark Knight said. "Tell Modo that I'll come by to see him tomorrow.  Will he be at that garage?"

"Maybe" Throttle said. "If not, we'll give you a ride."  The Dark Knight nodded and started to walk off.  "Wait.  I have a question."  She turned to look at him. "Are you really called the Dark Knight or is that just something the papers made up?"

"I don't have a name" She called out. "Make one up for me or get Modo to."

He stood watching her disappear into the shadows of the buildings.  No wonder had a thing for her.  She was a little mysterious, apparently smart, and could walk away from a lot.  He turned back and went to check on Modo.

Modo woke up from the sedation he had been under.  His leg was in a cast.  He was wearing boxers and had a blanket covering him.  He could still hear her words in his head 'this too shall pass'.  He had heard it somewhere before, but he couldn't remember.

He moved the sheet and looked at the cast.  They had signed it.  Charley signed 'I can't believe you broke your leg again.  Hope it heals quickly.'  Vinnie had signed 'I tripped over a girl.'  Throttle had put down the information he had acquired from the Dark Knight and that she claimed not to have a name.

Modo smiled.  She wanted him to try and name her.  He laid back down and tried to ignore his leg.

Anne got back to her apartment to find the note on her kitchen table.  It read: 'Anne – I'll see you later.  I should go help fix your bike. – Throttle'   At least he wasn't apologizing or saying that they couldn't be together.  There was a knock at the front door.

"Oh shit" Anne said.  She went to check the peephole.  It was Throttle.   Anne took a step back. "Hang on!  I'm getting my pajamas on."  She ran into her bedroom and scooped up her pjs.  She tried to take her boots off on the way to the bathroom. "Come on in!"

She closed the bathroom door and changed with speed that the Flash would be proud of.  She looked at her uniform crumpled on the floor.

"Anne?" Throttle asked.

"Just brushing my teeth, I'll be out in a second" Anne called back.  She grabbed the toothbrush and squirted toothpaste on it.  She stuck it in her mouth and grabbed her uniform from the floor.   What to do, what to do.  Hamper!  She opened the hamper and tossed it in, boots and all.  She grabbed a towel and threw that on top of it.  She finished brushing her teeth and came out to see Throttle. "Hi.  I didn't think you were coming back here."

"I didn't think you were going to leave" Throttle said.  Anne pulled him down to sit on the couch.

"I had a call" Anne said. "It was important.  I wouldn't have left if it wasn't important."  Throttle looked pretty bad.  He took off his helmet and set it next to the couch.  He had blood on his jeans. "What's this?  Are you okay?"  She touched the blood.  Throttle must have just come from helping out with Modo.

"Modo, one of my bros, got his leg broken" Throttle said. "He won't be able to walk for at least two weeks.  Whole leg cast."

"Damn" Anne said.  "How'd it happen?"

"You know that Dark Knight girl the radio mentioned?" Throttle asked.

"Yeah" Anne said.  She got up. "Want something to drink?"  Throttle shook his head 'no'. "I read a newspaper article on her."

"Yeah, well she was with him" Throttle said.  Anne felt a needle of pain shoot through her leg.  She braced herself on the counter, hoping Throttle didn't see. "I don't know who saved whose life."  Anne stood up and got a mug from the cabinet.  She started to fill it up with hot water when the pain came back.  She dropped the mug in the sink. "Hey, are you alright?"

Throttle got up and came over to her.

"I'm fine" Anne said. "Muscle cramp probably."  She tried to rub it off. "Just startled me.  That's all."

"Maybe you should sit down" Throttle said guiding her to the couch.  It felt like she had a piece of something in her hip that she hadn't felt before.  Maybe she didn't notice with all the adrenaline. "You're bleeding."

"What?" Anne said.  She looked down at herself.  Her hip was bleeding. Damn.  "Pull whatever it is out."

Throttle pushed her pajama bottoms down and pulled out the piece of metal that was piercing her.  He looked at it closely.  It was a flat piece of metal with a small LI printed on it.  LI, Limburger Industries.  Throttle looked over at Anne and narrowed his eyes behind his shades.  She was about the same height as the Dark Knight.

"Just a piece of metal" Throttle said.  He let the pause hold for a second. "With a Limburger Industries logo on it."

"What's that have to do with anything?" Anne asked.

"You didn't notice this in your hip?" Throttle asked.  Anne stood up and walked around the couch, back to the kitchen.

"No" Anne said.  She filled up her mug with hot water and got a tea bag.  Throttle stood up and set her mug down.

"You aren't telling me something" Throttle said.  He held up the three-inch piece of metal.  "Three inches and you didn't feel a thing?  Most people would have to go to the hospital."

"I was running around, doing some stuff" Anne said. "I was in a warehouse.  I fell down and scraped my leg.  I didn't notice it."

She turned away from him and picked up her drink.

"You sure that's what happened?" Throttle asked.  Anne turned to Throttle.

"I think you'd better back off" Anne said. "I'm fine.  Case closed."

Throttle set the piece of metal on the counter. "I'm going.  I need to go check on Modo."  He walked out of the kitchen, towards the door. "If you need to talk, you know where to find me."

Anne watched him go around the corner.  Her door slammed shut.

"Dammit" Anne said.  She picked up the piece of metal.  It was a shard of metal from someone's parking space marker.  She tossed it into the garbage can and finished her tea.

"How're you doing Modo?" Charley asked.  She had a cold rootbeer in her hand.  Modo was reading one of Throttle's magazines.

"I'm as good as I can be with a bum leg" Modo said.  Charley handed him the rootbeer. "Guess I'm out of the fight for right now."

"Yeah" Charley said. "I hear the Dark Knight was there."

"That's not really her name" Modo said. "That's just what the media calls her."

"Oh.  What's her name then?" Charley asked.  She sat down on the edge of the bed and checked his temperature.

"She doesn't have one" Modo said. "She asked Throttle to have me give her a name."

"She must like you" Charley said. "You're a little warm."

"Hehe.  Charley-ma'am, I don't know if she'd agree with you" Modo said.

"Why wouldn't she like you?" Charley asked.  Modo opened the soda and took a sip.

"I'm a mouse" Modo said.  Charley raised her eyebrow.  Throttle knocked on the door and came in.

"Hey bro, how're you doing?" Throttle asked.

"I'll live" Modo said.  Throttle leaned against the opposing bunk bed. "I don't know what I'd call her though.  Nothing really comes to mind."

"How about the tattooed lady?" Throttle said.  Charley and Modo looked at him.

"What are you talking about?" Modo asked.

"I think Anne is the Dark Knight" Throttle said.  He was obviously fuming.

"Who is Anne?" Modo asked.

"The girl he went out with today" Charley said. "Throttle, how can you think she's the Dark Knight?  She didn't have a bruise on her when we saw her.  After fighting with that guy in the restaurant, you'd think she'd have a bruise or a few cuts."

"She heals exceptionally fast" Throttle said. "Said it was a mutant thing."

"Mutant thing?" Charley said.  She recalled reading about mutants.  How they had terrified Senator Kelly a handful of years ago.

"Besides, I stopped by her place and pulled a piece of metal from her hip" Throttle said.

"Huh?" Modo said.

"It was part of a parking space marker at Limburger's" Throttle said. "I don't recall her being there."

"Oh man" Modo said.  Vinnie appeared in the doorway.

"Hey, found the party" Vinnie said. "So what are we talking about?"

"The Dark Knight is Throttle's girl" Modo said.  His ears had drooped.

"She's not my girl" Throttle said.  He stormed out of the room.

"Whoa.  Feel the storm there" Vinnie said.

"Shut up Vinnie" Charley said.  She put a hand on Modo's good leg. "You gonna be alright?"

"Yeah" Modo said. "It just…figures."  He laid back down. "I never get the girl, even when I think I might."

"Bro, he just said that she wasn't his girl" Vinnie said. "You still have a chance."

Modo just crossed his arms and faced the wall.  Charley got up and escorted Vinnie out of the room.

Throttle was taking apart the sphere Anne had given him.  It was made of gun powder and various liquids, one which was in a paper thin glass capsule.  Throttle put the different parts into plastic containers.  He'd have to ask what they were since they didn't come labeled.  He sat brooding in the corner.  He didn't know what was going to happen next with him and Anne or with Limburger and Rivet.

Anne had her laptop on her lap.  She had the news turned on, but wasn't paying too much attention to it.  She was creating a database for her own reference.  She plugged in all she could about Limburger and his business.  She put in the little information she had on Rivet.  She even put in a file on the biker mice and Charley.

She had started this database a few years ago when she lived in New York.  She had had a run in with Professor Charles Xavier and at one point she had even seen Spider-man.  All the articles she had been able to gather went into her database.  It was a lot of work, but it would pay off at some point.

She finished typing up the info about the biker mice and closed her laptop.  She thought about Modo and Throttle.  She wondered if they would even speak to her now.  She was pretty sure that Modo would, but Throttle?  Maybe, maybe not.  If he wasn't involved with Limburger, then he wouldn't of noticed.

She got up and sat on the floor.  She started stretching.  The news was talking about the skirmish over in the Middle East.  She bent over and changed the station.  He-Man was on.

Limburger was down in Karbunkle's lab.  He was fuming about Rivet's hand and about the new alliance between the Dark Knight and the biker mice.

"But, your spray can cheesiness" Karbunkle said.  He punched something into a computer. "We got this on the security cameras."

"What are you babbling about?" Limburger asked stepping in to see what Karbunkle had to show him.  It was a video clip of Modo squeezing the Dark Knight's hand.  His leg was obviously broken.  He watched until she ran off when the others showed up.  "One of them is down.  Perfect, Karbunkle."

"I could always" Karbunkle said with a laugh. "Give Rivet a new hand if he wishes."

"Ask him" Limburger said.  He tapped the computer screen. "It seems as though the giant has a crush on that woman.  Whatever it is, have someone take care of her.  In fact, I want both of those infuriating women here.  Davidson and this Dark Knight."

"I'm still working on who this Dark Knight might be" Karbunkle said.  Limburger scowled.

"Well what do you have so far?" Limburger asked.

"Not much" Karbunkle said.  "My surveillance team could only find a girl with the same color hair going to the Last Chance Garage.  Here's the picture."

A picture of Anne came up.

"Who is she?" Limburger asked.

"Anne Riddle" Karbunkle said. "She works at the Coffee Emporium and apparently has a thing for Throttle."

"Where does she work?" Limburger asked.

"The Coffee Emporium" Karbunkle repeated. "They have these little cat shaped coffee mugs, that I like." Limburger raised an eyebrow. "They're evil cats, your royal rankness."

"Bring her" Limburger said. "Those mice will show up if we have her and that blasted mechanic."

"Yes, sir" Karbunkle said.  Limburger walked out of the room.  Karbunkle pulled out his 'evil' cat shaped coffee mug. "I don't care what he says.  You're the cutest little kitty, aren't you?  Yes."

Throttle and Vinnie had gone to the scoreboard.  Modo was in the spare room and Charley was upstairs in her room.  No one heard the front door lock being picked or the goons when they entered.

Charley woke up when a hand clamped over her mouth.  Two goons held her down and kept her quiet while another tied her hands and feet together.  They dragged her out of the garage without a sound.

Three goons crawled up Anne's fire escape and managed to get the window open without much noise.  Anne was asleep on the couch.  The three goons immediately held her down and covered her mouth.  Her eyes shot open and she tried to shake them off.

They started to tie her feet together and then her hands.  When one of them picked her up, she squirmed around until she dropped to the floor.  She rolled and tried to stand up.  They tackled her and punched her until she was knocked out.

Modo awoke the next morning to find the garage totally empty.  He had crutches that he used to get around.  He made it to the garage door and called for his bike.

"Radio" Modo said.  The bike beeped. "Hey bros?  Guys wake up."

"What is it?" A sleepy Throttle answered.

"Charley's gone" Modo said. "I don't know where she is."

"There isn't a note?" Throttle asked.

"I haven't seen one" Modo said.  He looked around the garage. "The door's open too.  Get over here pronto."

Charley was yelling at Anne to wake up.  Finally, Anne shifted and opened her eyes.

"Glad you're finally awake" Charley said.  Anne tried to get her hands and feet loose.

"Where are we?" Anne asked.  Her face felt raw.

"Limburger's" Charley said.  Anne sat up and looked around.  There was nothing sharp in the cell they were in.  Contorting just enough to bring her hands in front of her, Anne looked at the knot.

"This is too simple" Anne said.  She started to undo the knot holding her feet.

"How'd you do that?" Charley asked.

"Do what?" Anne said with a confused look.

"That arm thing" Charley said.

"Sit on your hands" Anne said. "Then move back and bring your arms around your legs.  Some people can't do it."

Charley tried and eventually got it.  She started to undo her own ropes.  They were both in their pajamas.  In fact, they looked like they were supposed to be at a slumber party, not in a cold metal cell.  They untied each other's hands and looked out the bars of the cell.

"We need to be quiet" Charley whispered.

"We need to get out" Anne said.  The bars weren't budging.  Anne stepped back and looked at the ceiling.  There was an air vent. "How much do you weigh?"

"I don't know.  120 or so" Charley said.  Anne pointed up to the air vent.  Anne helped Charley up to the vent.  It was basic aluminum.  Once Charley had a firm grasp on in, Anne let her go.  With Charley's weight it came off.  They paused to listen to the lab movements.  The sound of welding over powered the sound of the vent coming off.

"Lets hurry" Anne said. "We might be able to get out of here before they realize we're gone."

"Okay" Charley said.  Anne hoisted her up to the vent.  Charley crawled in and helped to pull Anne up to the vent.  They crawled until they passed a ventilation grate.  "We're near some elevators."

"Do you know where we are?" Anne whispered.

"I think we're in front of Limburger's office, but I don't know" Charley said.

"Maybe we can find a different way out.  This will be too easy for them to catch us" Anne said.  Charley nodded and kept moving.

Throttle and Vinnie were at the garage in record time.  Modo was in the kitchen sitting down.

"Where's Charley?" Vinnie asked coming into the house.

"I don't know" Modo said. "I didn't hear anything last night."

"Probably at Limburger's" Throttle said. "Modo, you have to stay here."

"I know" Modo said.

"I'm gonna rip that monkey to pieces if he's hurt Charley" Vinnie said running out to the garage.

"We'll be back" Throttle said.  They took off leaving Modo to worry.

Charley stopped when she came to a drop off. "Looks like we're going down from here."

"How big of a drop?" Anne asked.

"Looks about twelve feet or so" Charley said.  Charley braced against the sides of the vent as she crawled down.  Anne did the same thing.  They came to another grate. "It looks like we're next to the stairwell door."

"Want to chance it?" Anne asked.

"Sure" Charley said.  Charley pushed on the grate with her feet.  Anne managed to turn around and helped her.  The grate gave way and they both jumped down from the vent. "Let's hurry out of here."

They went down the stairs until they heard a door open from a floor below them.  They looked over the railing and saw someone in a suit descending the stairs.  They waited until they heard another door open and shut.  They quickly ran down the stairs.  They were almost to the ground floor.  They had two more floors to go.

"What do we do when we get to the main floor?" Charley asked.

"Just walk out" Anne said.

"Look at us though" Charley said. "We're covered in dust and dirt."

"I don't think anyone will really care" Anne said. "We just have to make a dead run for the doors.  Once we get outside, we can just disappear.  You have to follow me though."

"If it means getting to safety, then no problem" Charley said.  Charley checked her watch.  It was only seven thirty.  The guys probably weren't up yet.

Throttle and Vinnie landed in Limburger's office.  He hadn't even had time to get his window fixed.  In fact, it didn't appear he was awake.

"This blows!" Vinnie said. "We have to get to Karbunkle's lab.  He probably has Charley!"

"Calm down Vincent" Throttle said. "Here's the plan.  We use anything we can if we see Rivet.  I was talking with the Dark Knight and she said she blew his hand off.  Use that to our advantage.  Got it?"

"Yeah" Vinnie said.

"Let's rock and ride, bro" Throttle said.  They took off to find Karbunkle's lab.

Charley and Anne had made it outside.  The secretary had given them a weird look, but that was all the trouble they had had.  They ran down the street, into an alley, and up to the top of a building.

"This is disappearing?" Charley asked.  Anne went over to a section of the roof and opened a heavy metal box that was bolted down to the roof. "What's that?"

"This" Anne said opening the box. "Is one of my boxes."  She pulled out a pair of gloves and two pairs of $5 sneakers.  She also pulled out a roll of quarters. "Here."

"You are the Dark Knight, aren't you?" Charley asked taking the shoes.  Anne didn't say anything.  She put the gloves into the box and locked it back up.  They got off the roof and went to a bus stop.  After five minutes of waiting, a bus showed up.  They paid in quarters and rode until they were close to Anne's apartment.

"Where are we going?" Charley asked.  Anne pulled the stop cord on the bus and they got off.  Anne kept quiet.  She led Charley up to apartment 4D using the fire escape.

"They took me out through the fire escape" Anne said. "The front door is still locked."

Charley felt safer once they were inside the apartment.  Anne pointed to the bathroom.  Charley immediately went in and started to get rid of the dirt on her self.  Anne found a pack of smokes and lit one up.  She'd have to brace herself for the upcoming battle.

"You should probably call the guys" Anne said. "Let them know you're okay."

"Don't you want to talk to Throttle?" Charley asked.

"I don't think he wants to talk right now" Anne said. "Besides, I need to shower."  She started to walk towards the bathroom. "Oh, Charley, don't tell them."

"Throttle knows" Charley said.  Anne just nodded and shut the bathroom door.

"Oh Charley-ma'am, it's good to hear your voice" Modo said. "Where are you calling from?"

"Anne's apartment" Charley said. "They took both of us, but we got out through the ventilation system."

"I'll radio the guys" Modo said. "They're out looking for you."

"Okay" Charley said. "I'll be there in a little while."

"Okay" Modo said. "You guys are alright though?"

"Just a little dirty" Charley said.

Anne came out of the bathroom.  Her hair was plastered to her head by a little water and hair gel.  She was clothed in her uniform.  She brought a pair of jeans from her bedroom and tossed them to Charley.

"They should fit" Anne said.  Charley looked at her as if she was meeting her for the first time.  Charley went to change in the bathroom and Anne decided to check her ammo.  She didn't want to end up empty when she needed that extra bullet.

Charley came out with the jeans on.

"Ready to go?" Anne asked.

"Go where?" Charley asked.

"To your garage" Anne said. "You need to take a real shower and I promised Modo I'd say hi."

"You should tell him" Charley said.

"I can't" Anne said. "Not right now at least."

They left the same way they came in.  Then, they took the back alleys until they reached the Last Chance Garage.

Charley burst through the garage doors and went to hug Modo.  Anne, or the Dark Knight, stood in the doorway.

"Are you okay?" Modo asked both of them.

"We're fine" Charley said.  The Dark Knight just nodded. "Where are the guys?"

"Leaving a thank you note at Limburger's" Modo said.

"I have to go" The Dark Knight said.

"Wait" Modo said.

"I know its dangerous Modo" The Dark Knight said.

"No" Modo said. "Not that."  He tossed a piece of metal at her.  She caught it. "Mouse."

"Mouse?" Anne repeated.  The metal was shaped like the headlights of the bikes.  It was a pin.

"Your name" Modo said. "You aren't a mouse, but you sure seem to be able to get in and out of places like mice.  You're quiet and your eyes, they're red."

"Mouse" Anne mused with the name.

"Besides" Modo said. "If you need our help, we'll help you."

Anne smiled.  She pinned it to her jacket. "Thanks Modo.  I like it."  She turned to walk out the door.

"Are you Throttle's girl?" Modo asked.  Anne stopped in mid-step.

"I don't know" Mouse said.  She went out to the garage.  She looked at the motorcycle she had bought.  Charley had followed her out to the garage. "Doesn't work right now, does it?"

"It works" Charley said. "I did the work on it.  It wasn't as bad as I thought."

"How much do I owe you?" Mouse asked.

"It was a two hundred dollar job" Charley said. "But you helped me out of Limburger's.  So, it's on the house."

"I'll pay you" Mouse said.  She got on her bike and looked at Charley. "One thing I learned is never to mix business with life.  When I'll start to figure that out, I'll never know."

Mouse started her bike and was off.

"YEOOOW!" Vinnie yelled.  They had found Karbunkle's lab without a problem.  They also found a dozen of Limburger's goons without a problem.  Karbunkle was finishing work on Rivet.  Karbunkle finished up when the mice knocked off the last of the goons.

"You're a robot?" Vinnie asked.

"Just a new hand mouse" Rivet said.  He had a large gun at his side.  Another pulse gun no doubt.  The mice dodged the pulse and started to fire full force on Rivet.

Mouse, couldn't make her bike do what Modo had done with his.  She had to park it before going into Limburger Tower.  The secretary that had looked at her awkwardly gave her the same look.  She got on the elevator and pulled out her weapons.

When the elevators opened up, she cautiously stepped out and ran down the hall until she heard loud gunfire.

She opened the door to hear the pulse rifle go off.  She ran into the lab.  Both mice had been thrown from their bikes into the wall.  She unloaded both gun clips into Rivet.  Karbunkle started to yell.

"STOP!!!" Karbunkle screamed.  Rivet and Mouse had each other targeted. "You—you miscreant!  Your friends are down, we have two of your friends, and you can't beat Rivet.  Surrender or we'll kill you."

"One, they're not in there carrot top" Mouse said. "Two, they're more or less acquaintances and I believe that they'd kick your ass before you were able to kill me.  Three, I have something you don't."

She dropped her guns, which were out of ammo anyway, and pulled out two spheres.

Karbunkle laughed.  "You're going to hit us with balls?"

Mouse chucked one at the chair that was between her and Karbunkle.  It exploded and Karbunkle was thrown back.  Rivet fired his pulse rifle at her the same time she threw the second sphere where he was standing.  They both got thrown back.

Mouse looked over at Throttle and Vinnie.  They weren't moving.  Mouse got up and pulled out two more spheres.  She hurled them at Rivet until his armor ripped apart.  She moved forward and picked up her guns.  She discharged the clips and put in new ones.

"Send him back to wherever he came from" She said pointing a gun towards Karbunkle.

"I…uh…okay" He said.  He somehow dragged Rivet to the machine.  It glowed yellow and Rivet was gone.  Though he screamed that he'd meet up with her again.

"You guys okay?" Mouse asked.  She went over to Vinnie and Throttle.  With a little shake, Vinnie was awake.

"What happened?" Vinnie asked.

"Cover my back.  Carrot top is still wandering around" Mouse said.  She was kneeling by Throttle.  Vinnie pulled out a gun and stood his bike up. "Throttle." Mouse shook Throttle by his vest.  "Throttle wake up."

The mouse wasn't stirring.  She pulled a smelling salt package from her belt and broke it.  She waved it under his nose.  Nothing.  She threw the canister away.

"He's not looking good" Mouse said.  He was breathing, but was very much unconscious.

"I'll take him" Vinnie said.  Mouse dragged Throttle over to Vinnie, who put him onto his bike with his tail. "Use Throttle's bike.  We're getting out of here."

"We'll get you!" Karbunkle screeched.  "We'll find out who you are Dark Knight and tear your life to shreds!"

"The name" Mouse said starting Throttle's bike. "Is Mouse!"

She fired her gun at his computer.  Sparks flew and the computer went black.

"AHHH!" Karbunkle screamed. "My work!"

Mouse twirled the gun and holstered it.  She followed Vinnie out of the tower.

"My bike" Mouse said.

"Ride it" Vinnie said. "Throttle's bike knows it's way back to the garage."

"Huh?" Mouse said looking down at the bike.

"Trust me" Vinnie said. "Just hurry before we get goons on our tails."

Mouse did what he said and followed them to the garage.

Charley helped Vinnie move Throttle to the spare room.  Modo could only watch.  His expression was of anger.  Mouse came in and stayed in the room with Modo.

"He's just unconscious" Mouse said. "He should be alright."

"I just wish I'd been there" Modo said. "I can't do anything with this bum leg of mine."

"Modo, you did enough" Mouse said. "We can't all be there every time." Modo kept the frown on his face.  Mouse went over and put her hand on his shoulder.  He reached up and put his hand on hers. "Besides, if it weren't for you we'd still be up against that guy and I wouldn't of had the pleasure of dropping you on your ass."

Modo chuckled.

The End


End file.
